In the fall of 1991, it was announced that
10cc
's original quartet of members had reconvened in Woodstock, to begin work on their first album together in 16 years. Of course it didn't happen like that;
Kevin Godley
and
Lol Creme
both had other careers to consider at that time, and the bulk of the new record was left to
Eric Stewart
Graham Gouldman
-- whose own tenure at the helm ended when they split the band in 1983. And it shows. Although the prodigals did contribute to the album by way of backing vocals, their presence was scarcely felt. Neither did producer
Gary Katz
add anything to the brew, as songs that sounded terrific as demos (
"Welcome to Paradise"
in particular) were simply plastered over with studio lushness by session men that the
10cc-ers
themselves did not even know. The result is a polished piece of nothing, an album that owes nothing to the
that listeners know and love, and not much to anything that was going on elsewhere on the music scene at that time. It simply sits in the corner humming quietly to itself, and it's easy to forget that it even exists. [
7T's
issued their 15-track edition in 2008.] ~ Dave Thompson